Pending rezonings in the city of Locust Grove will add over five million square feet of new industrial warehouse space covering 391 acres. The projects front the I-75 corridor between Bill Gardner Parkway and Bethlehem Road.

The first project, known as Gardner 42, includes 120.1 acres located north of Marketplace Blvd and east of I-75. The development’s access points will be on US 23 / SR 42. The site plan shows two warehouses for a combined two million square feet of industrial space.

The second project runs along Price Drive on the west side of the interstate. The first phase of the ClayCo development received approval in 2016. The project covered 79.4 acres and has built a one-million square foot warehouse. An additional five warehouses covering 271 acres are proposed in phase II. The new phase is set to build 3.3 million square feet of industrial space.

The most-northern portion of phase II conflicts with the proposed I-75 exit at Bethlehem Road. Current plans for the exit involve a new four-lane Bethlehem Road built to the south of the existing road. At least one of the proposed warehouses is in the project right-of-way. The city and developer are working together to preserve the required land.

The projects are estimated to generate over 10,000 new daily vehicle trips to the Locust Grove area. Approximately 3,000 of the trips will be truck traffic. The projects are well-positioned to take advantage of the future Bethlehem Road exit slated for construction in 2023-2025 but will add to the existing volumes on Bill Gardner Parkway until that time.

An additional traffic concern is the intersection of Bethlehem Rd and US 23 / SR 42. The traffic studies from both projects concluded this intersection is not performing adequately. The studies recommended either a traffic signal or roundabout. There are no immediate plans to address this because of the I-75 interchange project. The rebuilt Bethlehem Road will intersect US 23 / SR 42 north of the existing location.

The Gardner 42 traffic study also concluded Marketplace Blvd at US 23 / SR 42 does not function adequately during the evening peak hours. Locust Grove is coordinating with Georgia DOT for the future installation of a roundabout at this location.

Gardner 42 is scheduled for a public hearing at the Locust Grove city council meeting on April 16 at 6 pm. The address is 3640 Georgia 42 S, Locust Grove, GA 30248 located at the public safety building.

Update: ClayCo phase II was advertised in the Henry Herald for a public hearing on April 16, but was not heard. The project has not been scheduled as of August 15, 2018 but is expected to be heard before year end.

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Published by Clayton

Clayton Carte is the founder and editor of Moving Henry Forward. The blog focuses on transportation projects and land use planning within Henry County. Clayton graduated from Ola High School and attends Clayton State University studying political science. His goals include working as an urban planner and encouraging others to engage with local government.
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9 thoughts on “400 acres of warehouses pending before Locust Grove city council”

Please, please, please Locust Grove and Henry Co..stop!! Stop all this nonsense! You will have no residents left. This is not worth the tax dollars if it turns our town into merely an industrial site. Not to mention the negative environmental impact. Goodness. Not one good reason to do this. It’s madness. Please tell me one person from our town or county who want this. You aren’t listening to the residents. Shame on you..you really aren’t listening.

I move to Locust Grove because it was a small quiet town. We don’t need any more warehouses in Henry County. There are several empty warehouse over off 155. Please go to the warehouse alley over there.

Seriously??? Why would they allow more warehouses to be built. There are so many empty ones already. Many most people do net even know about because you can’t see them from the road. They are back behind other warehouses and wooded areas. Oh yes, not to mention all the green space with trees and wildlife that have been distroyd. All these people who are approving these warehouses need to be on the road and try ang get somewhere from one end of town to the other. All the major road and secondary roads are so congested you can’t enjoy even trying to go shopping out out to eat with your family the traffic is so bad.

Glad I left Henry county in 2003 and moved south to a small town. One of the best known lies of county and city commissioners. We need more growth. It will be great for the county. People are moving out of Henry County by the droves . So much for much needed growth. Thankful that I lived in Stockbridge in the late 80’s and mid 90’s before it started up. It was a wonderful place . You could drive around the square in McDonough on Sunday with no traffic. It will not be long till Henry County will be another Clayton County. Sad…….

Greedy,non courteous,people,destroying our quality of life. As if the traffic is not way past bad enough,have you people that has something to do with this have no concern about those of us who do not want more of this unnecessary bs around here?